I'm trying to figure out what the (presumably bad/unpleasant) f2p game trade-offs described in the article actually are; I think they are:
1. Fun vs. money (you can pay less money, but then the game is less fun)
2. Game success vs. wasted real life focus/time and constant worry/interruptions (if you don't constantly babysit the game and grind daily tasks then the game punishes you harshly)
3. Spending time/money on one game task/resource vs. another; this seems like an intrinsic trade-off, but segmented, non-tradable tokens and currencies increase the penalties for making a "wrong" decision
Out of the three, I greatly dislike 1 and 2. 3 is tolerable if the game is reasonably transparent about cost/time vs. reward The issue of a game surprising you with awful grinding/spending roadblocks seems like a special case of 2/1.
I think 3 really boils down to the same thing as 1 - it's a fun vs. money trade-off. Going the wrong path due to inexperience and having to grind your way back is just not fun.
2 is what worries me most, primarily because constant interruptions and distractions are disastrous to player's mental faculties, which are usually needed elsewhere (school, job, relationships, etc.).
1. Fun vs. money (you can pay less money, but then the game is less fun)
2. Game success vs. wasted real life focus/time and constant worry/interruptions (if you don't constantly babysit the game and grind daily tasks then the game punishes you harshly)
3. Spending time/money on one game task/resource vs. another; this seems like an intrinsic trade-off, but segmented, non-tradable tokens and currencies increase the penalties for making a "wrong" decision
Out of the three, I greatly dislike 1 and 2. 3 is tolerable if the game is reasonably transparent about cost/time vs. reward The issue of a game surprising you with awful grinding/spending roadblocks seems like a special case of 2/1.